Five Writers' Writing

Looking back

By Michelle Dennison

Nine years ago I almost died.

Nine years ago, I was in hospital attached to one of those machines that went “bleep bleep bleep”.

But it wasn’t my heart that the machine was keeping track of, but the tiny human inside me. I had pregnancy-induced pre-eclampsia; a strange condition where ones blood pressure shoots up, feet get bigger and ones body loses the ability to keep proteins.

So to save me from dying from whatever high blood pressure does, I had to have my baby 5 weeks before time.

All went well. A healthy, strong, miniscule girl was born at about 12pm. I continued to have high blood pressure for the next two weeks, and got to know the hospital staff and menu very well.

My daughter stayed for a month, and I got to know the hospital staff and Gateway Mall even better.

I had to have a high protein diet which involved lots of sausages, protein shakes and egg. I had all kinds of medication, displayed for me in one of those many-tiered trolleys, rather like I was buying sweets.

It was a strange month of my life, but at least as a first time mom, I had the benefit of a month of trained nurses training me to look after my baby.

And now it’s nine years later, and the tiny baby is now a tiny young lady, full of life and joy. Sometimes, the worst times in our life can give us the greatest rewards.